


A Night with You

by nalbwanalbwa



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Christmas Fluff, Crushes, M/M, Nielwink Starry Nights of Winter, but first I have to make Daniel suffer a bit, nielwink, side pairings are from broduce era, supposedly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 02:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13308498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nalbwanalbwa/pseuds/nalbwanalbwa
Summary: A Yule Ball in Hogwarts calls for all joy and merry, except for two people. One of them is Park Jihoon who has someone he wants to go to the ball with, someone (plural applicable) he feels obligated to take to the ball with him, and someone who wants to go to the ball with him, though he does not know that yet - and they are all different persons. Kang Daniel's case is slightly less complicated; he just wants to spend the night with the one and only Park Jihoon.





	A Night with You

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my submission for [Starry Night of Winter](https://twitter.com/nwstarrynights) , though it is more to an excuse for me to write a self-indulgent Hogwarts! au with Slytherin!Jihoon and Gryffindor!Daniel lol Check out the twitter for more nielwink goodness this month, and also we are taking prompts for the spring fest too! 
> 
> So, enjoy the messy ride, I guess? ha ha.
> 
> p.s. oh I drop all the Korean honorifics because I find them weird in Hogwarts settings? (though, I also find it weird writing without them lol)

 

“Ong Sungwoo! We have to win today!” Daniel whispers urgently as he shoves himself between Sungwo and another sixth year, who gives him dirty look but shifts to give him some space anyway, probably relenting only at the sight of Daniel’s Nimbus 2000 and his full-gear Quidditch attire.

Ong Sungwo scoffs behind his flask of ginger ale; his good luck drink before every match. “We _always_ have to win, Kang Daniel – I don’t know about you, but I’ve never taken off with my broom without that thought.”

Daniel huffs and helps himself with some pumpkin juice. He eyes the breads and the hams lined so beautifully on the silverware in front of him with a longing, but his stomach churns at the thought of having to digest them – as it always does before a match, especially the first of the term – so he looks away forlornly with a promise to stuff himself at lunch after a big win.

Which brings him to the topic again.

“He’s wearing our colour!” he reiterates his point without clarifying the subject because Sungwoo already knows too well who he is talking about. “He’s supporting our house, so we have to win! I swear on Merlin’s beard I won’t let a single Quaffle in today; those Hufflepuffs can try all they want!”

Sungwoo squints at the Slytherin table and true enough, the boy in question – the apple of Daniel’s eyes – is sporting a maroon beanie in the first week of November, his blond hair creating a contrast that looks a lot like the colour of their own house. At the corner of his eyes, he can see Daniel looking at the same person, lips curved into a giddy smile that, in his opinion as the team captain, is kind of worrying – but there is no use talking to Daniel regarding the matter; he knows that much.

Taking the last sip of his ale, he pats Daniel’s shoulder as he swings his long leg off the bench. “Let’s win this, then. Don’t let a single Quaffle in – remember your promise, Daniel.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The pitch roars as the Quaffle flies through Gryffindor’s hoop, a curved throw that evades the stretch of the Keeper’s arm by almost a mile – almost burying the long howl of victory from the match commentator 6th year Hufflepuff Kim Jaehwan, but not quite. The scoring player waltzes around the pitch in celebration, black and yellow robes flutter with the morning breeze, which seems to be especially cool today as it carries the angry shout from the Gryffindor team captain towards the exasperated Keeper.

“What in the bloody hell is Kang Daniel doing?” Jihoon screams in frustration, though his voice is effectively drowned by the Hufflepuff chant from the boy sitting a seat away from his. He spares the boy with his infamous glare, but it goes unnoticed amidst the joy around him. Jihoon is starting to hate his choice of spectator stand.

“Serve you right for siding with the enemies,” Park Woojin has the audacity to chide him. Jihoon stares at him down with bulging eyes darting from the black and yellow striped sweater his friend is donning, to the Hufflepuff house banner that he is holding with both his hand.

“I might be supporting the enemies _right now_ , but the dungeon no longer welcomes you, Park Woojin – you may sleep in the basement from now on,” he spits incredulously.

Woojin smirks at the empty threat, showing his charming snaggletooth in the process. “Who says I haven’t been sleeping at the basement?”

Jihoon is about to retort – he swears he is – but he is shushed brashly by Ahn Hyungseob, who is now done with his annoying Hufflepuff chant and has his big doe eyes fixed at the resuming match again. The score is now 140 to 70 with Hufflepuff leading in almost an hour into the match, leaving Jihoon fidgeting in his seat because it is unlikely the Gryffindor team players can turn the table now that they must have started to tire out.

“By the way, Jihoon,” Hyungseob says suddenly, peering over Woojin’s body in between them with eyes twinkling in a way that makes Jihoon wants to yell _Incendio_ at the couple black and yellow striped sweaters. “Kang Daniel is the MVP in today’s match.  Isn’t he the best?”

In the name of Merlin’s glorious slicked back hair, Jihoon’s wand is already half out from the pocket of his robe when the megaphone screeches to Kim Jaehwan’s screaming –

“HWANG MINYHYUN IS ON THE SNITCH – THE EMPEROR HWANG! HE IS SO CLOSE – WILL HE?”

Jihoon jumps to his feet – ignoring the shouts of protest from the people behind his seat – and strains his eyes trying to catch the silhouette of the golden and crimson flurrying in the air. He locks on the image just in time to see the Gryffindor Seeker makes a spiral soar, barely evading a well-aimed Bludger, with his hand stretched towards the wings of the Golden Snitch.   

He does not realize it but Jihoon indeed holds his breath as Hwang Minhyun’s long fingers engulf the tiny ball and he only releases it when his ears are deafened by the roaring crowd, louder this time, on top of it Kim Jaehwan bellowing into his megaphone –

“HE HAS THE SNITCH! EMPEROR HWANG DID IT AGAIN – SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CATCH, I HAVE TO ADMIT – THIS IS IT FOLKS AND FRIENDS – 150 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR, ALL THANKS TO THE BRILLIANT EMPEROR – SO CLOSE, MY FELLOW HUFFLEPUFFS, YOU GUYS HAVE DONE VERY WELL – SCORING 140 POINTS – GOOD JOB, INDEED”

Kim Jaehwan continues to blabber on but Jihoon is definitely no longer listening. He turns to the dumbfounded Hyungseob with the biggest grin on his face. “Well, Kang Daniel is alright, but I still like Hwang Minhyun the best. Isn’t he the coolest?”

 

* * *

  

Sungwoo knows he will see the huge lump beneath the blanket when he enters the room, but he feels relieved to see it all the same. Making no sound, he makes way towards the four-poster bed and proceeds to nudge at the lump with the tip of his shoes. Daniel shifts slightly but makes no point of revealing himself, and thus Sungwoo thinks he deserves a harder nudge, this time with the whole sole of the shoes.

“Hey!” Daniel protests, finally yanking his blanket off him, revealing the messy silver hair and puffy face. “Let me sleep!”

“Eat something,” Sungwoo commands as he dumps the flask and the wrapped sandwiches that he has been holding onto Daniel’s lap. “It’s not that your lover boy will nurse you if you get sick.”

Daniel rolls his eyes at the jab but reaches for the food all the same. He would like to sulk some more, but his stomach is practically screaming to be filled.

“He’s downstairs with Joo Haknyeon, by the way – looking so happy about our win as if he’s a Gryffindor himself,” says Sungwoo, eyeing Daniel’s reaction to the particular information. Much to his surprise, Daniel does not look a bit elated at all.

“You know I haven’t talked to him after that thing two years ago, Sungwoo.”

Now _that_ surprises Sungwoo, but Daniel does not seem to want to talk about it, so he chooses not to push it. He pulls out a bottle of Butterbeer from his robe and tosses it at Daniel’s way before turning on his heels to leave the room.

“I’ll tell him you are crying your eyes out, then.”

“ONG SUNGWOO!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jihoon usually likes the convenience of tables and proper chairs but it is a non-Hogsmeade weekend and the Slytherin common room in the cold dungeon as well as the library are full of students who are catching up with the piling homework in the middle of the term – and while Jihoon is not one who gets sentimental about this, but it is indeed a beautiful Saturday with a clear, blue sky so he relents when Woojin and Hyungseob drag him to complete their homework near the lake instead.

“It’s too windy,” he grumbles, as the stone he is trying to charm to move in perfect 8 shape wobbles unsteadily; almost as uncertain as his grade for Charms for the upcoming O.W.L.

“It’s your wrist movement and your lack of concentration, dimwit,” says Woojin without even looking up from the Potion essay he is working on, because there is hardly any wind at all, just cool breeze that cannot do more than ruffle their hair lightly and definitely has no effect on the stone. “Seob, move a little, I can’t see this part. Damn, my 3-year-old sister can write better than Park Jihoon.”

“ _Levioso!_ ” Jihoon chants from his spot, his hawthorn wand pointing at his 20-inches essay that Woojin and Hyungseob are copying from. The scroll hovers a foot from the ground, not as high as Jihoon has intended; even when he tugs his wand higher. “For someone who’s copying _my_ essay, you sure are shameless.”

“Oh, thanks, Jihoon, I can read it better now,” Woojin remarks, eyes still focusing at the Jihoon’s tiny scribbles on the parchment. Hyungseob, the better devil of the two, stares at Jihoon with his round eyes, trying to make sense of what Jihoon is doing and when their eyes meet, Jihoon can actually read his expression – “ _Are you really that bad in Charms?”_

Perplexed, Jihoon straightens his arm and says through gritted teeth, “ _Accio_ essay!”

He can do the Summoning Charm least, Jihoon assures himself inwardly as the scroll lands onto his lap haphazardly.

Woojin sits up to protest; he has written only halfway through the requirement of 15 inch that Professor Slughorn has set – and it is not even his fault that Jihoon’s handwriting is equivalent to a toddler, and the latter likes to include some additional information that Woojin is sure not included in their syllabus range.

Park Jihoon is, after all, a _big_ Potion geek.

Before he opens his mouth in argument, he notices a familiar figure with wavy, auburn hair approaching them. These characteristics only reminds him of one person, and he squints a little to confirm his initial guess.

“Joo Haknyeon coming in 30 seconds,” he informs his friends, gesturing at the figure feet away, so that they can also forgo the thought of being productive because no one can get anything done with Joo Haknyeon around, in both good and bad senses of the expression. Jihoon and Hyungseob collectively sigh, the former scrolling his Potion essay resignedly while the latter carefully keeps his peacock quill in its case.

“Hi, guys!” Joo Haknyeon plops down next to Jihoon as he runs his fingers through his messy hair. “It’s such a nice day, isn’t it? Clear sky but not much sunlight; perfect for flying.”

“Yeah,” says Jihoon, secretly thinking Haknyeon probably needs to cut some of those curly locks. “You were from Quidditch practice?”

Haknyeon nods. “We are up against Ravenclaw next.”

“Shouldn’t be much a problem, should it? No offense, Jihoonie – I know you kind of adopted the kid – but Lai Guanlin is not that good of a Seeker,” Hyungseob offers his opinion, glancing apologetically at Jihoon, which the latter waves off with a shrug.

“Guanlin could be really lucky sometimes, though – and Ravenclaws have solid Chasers and Beaters,” he points out additionally.

“Well, that’s what worrying us now,” Haknyeon sighs, his lips inevitably forming into a pout that reminds Woojin of his toddler little sister. “Our Keeper is a bit...”

His words trail away as he accidentally locks eyes with Jihoon, and he gasps as if something just crosses his mind.

“You know Kang Daniel never really talks to me, right?” Haknyeon makes it sound like a rhetoric question but in all honesty, none of them knows that. They nod away anyway, because this sounds interesting enough. “Last night, I was just hanging out at our common room and he suddenly sat next to me and asked if Jihoon already has a date for the ball!”

“Why would he ask you?” Hyungseob asks, at the same time as Woojin’s “Why would he ask that?”

Their eyes are then immediately on Jihoon, who shrugs and is as clueless as his friends. “So, what did you tell him?” he asks Haknyeon cautiously; because while Haknyeon is harmless by nature, more often than not he does things that convince people that his head is actually filled with rolling Pygmy Puffs.

“Oh, I told him you are waiting for Hwang Minhyun to ask you, of course.”  

There is a whole 10 seconds of silence, minus some joyful shrieks from a distance and rustling of leaves right atop of Jihoon’s head – and Haknyeon is still sporting a smile on his pretty face, totally unaware of the situation he has created or the fury he has invoked from the boy next to him.

“YOU TOLD HIM WHAT?” Jihoon has his wand pointed at Haknyeon, and the stones he was desperately trying to charm earlier fire like bullets towards Haknyeon, whose reflex reaction is to cover his face behind his arms.

“What,” Haknyeon protests among his tiny pained yelps as the stones hit him everywhere they can reach. “I thought everyone know!”

“How would _everyone_ know, it’s not like I’ve confessed to him over a Howler during breakfast,” Jihoon says indignantly, wand still raised in his little attack, though somehow the stones are now slowing down and Haknyeon are trying to swat them away.

“Uh, actually,” Woojin starts, but immediately gets shushed down by Hyungseob when Jihoon turns his head towards them, eyes threateningly steely.

Jihoon stands up then, and as he does, the stones drop around Haknyeon, unmoving and much to the latter’s relief. He glares at his Gryffindor friend, who flinches and has his eyes trained at Jihoon’s wand as a precaution.

“You say anything about this to anyone else, I’ll make sure your Quidditch Captain would have to find himself a new Chaser before the match with the Ravenclaws,” he warns through gritted teeth before stomping out from the vicinity.

“Phew,” Woojin sighs, wiping beads of sweat he has just noticed on his forehead. Jihoon is quite a force to reckon with when his temper gets ahead of him; though Woojin himself likes to push the invisible limit sometimes, he cannot blame Haknyeon for looking visibly shaken after being at the end of Jihoon’s fit, despite being a Gryffindor. “You are let go easy, just don’t appear around him for a while, he’ll forget about it, no worries.”        

Haknyeon lets himself lie down on the warm grass, eyes closed and feeling more drained by Jihoon and less by the 3-hour Quidditch practice. When he opens his eyes, he is greeted by another pair of big eyes, staring right into his soul from less than an arm-length away, and he shrieks as he rolls around, a hand scrambling for his wand under the robe while another holds his chest in fear of his heart actually jumping out.

“Kim Donghan, if you kill Haknyeon, our house points will be deducted,” Hyungseob says sombrely.

Woojin hears a siren blaring inside his head reminding him to re-evaluate the decision on dating Hyungseob but decides to focus on a more pressing matter. “What do you have in the basket?”

Donghan sits down, crossing his legs and bringing the basket up front. “Jihoon said he wanted some scones so I asked the kitchen elves for some – where is he, though?”

“Who cares,” Woojin waves off Donghan’s concern and shifts closer to the picnic basket. “He needs to diet anyway. I hope the elves prepare some jams as well?”

 

* * *

 

Daniel clasps down the ball crate with a snap and Sungwoo picks up both of their brooms before they leave the pitch together. It is only when it turns dark enough that Sungwoo gestures to Daniel to fly down; the cloudless sunset has been a pretty backdrop of their extended practice session. He wishes the practice has been as good as the weather, though – but Daniel has not been able to look at him in the eyes since they touched down with their brooms.

“If you keep playing like that, I might have to do try-out for a new Keeper, Daniel,” he says with a sigh, trying to keep his tone neutral at least if not amicable. “I’m as busy as it is with my N.E.W.T this year so don’t make me do that, please.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll do better, I’ll practise more tomorrow,” Daniel’s voice is low when he speaks, unlike the boy Sungwoo used to know, the one he has befriended despite a grade difference.

There is only one thing that can distract Daniel enough to affect his Quidditch skill, and as a Captain and a friend, Sungwoo does not like it a bit. “Sort out your lover boy problem first. Are you going to ask him to the ball?”

At that question, Daniel heaves a big sigh. “Joo Haknyeon told me Jihoon wants to go with Hwang Minhyun.”

“Oh,” Sungwoo’s mouth hands open with loss of words, because having to compete with Hwang Minhyun is indeed something worth to be depressed over. Daniel gives him a small chuckle at the look of his face, and he responds by patting the younger boy on his shoulder reassuringly.

“Well, _Park Jihoon_ wants to go with Minhyun, but that doesn’t mean _Minhyun_ will not go with someone else; it’s not like they are dating each other. You should just do something, sweep your lover boy off his feet and ask him to go with you,” he says, trying to inject some positivity into the situation even though a small voice in his head is telling him that it is pretty much game over for Daniel if it is Hwang Minhyun that he is up against.

Hwang Minhyun, with coveted blood of several generations of Gryffindor which shows in the way he carries himself all throughout his seven years in Hogwarts as the house’s respected prefect, his team’s previous Seeker and the teacher’s absolute favourite, is not called Emperor Hwang for nothing. 

The voice is perhaps louder in Daniel’s mind, though – Sungwoo comes to think of it and reminds himself to be a bit kinder to Daniel regarding the matter. After all, he has been in a relationship with his girlfriend for almost four years now, and probably cannot really relate to Daniel’s current emotional turmoil over a crush that has not seen any progress for so long.

At this point, he wonders if the upcoming Yule Ball is actually a blessing or a doom to the course of Daniel’s love life.

 

* * *

 

The Yule Ball has been announced only on the last week of November, although it has been hinted by the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall that the students might want to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas this year during the start-of-term dinner. Perhaps the delay in the actual announcement is a good decision on the teachers’ part because at least they have three whole months to teach something to the students, a feat that is hard to achieve now that the news is out and all they care are about who to go to the ball with and what to wear to the ball – and who is going with who, and who is going to wear what, since it matters.

Yet ball or no ball, Professor Binn’s droning lecture on the goblin’s uprising has always been ignored for generations and the fact that he never cares about how the hushed discussions going on among the 5th year students from both Slytherin and Hufflepuff houses present in the classroom has completely drowned his voice, makes it even a more ideal situation for the young magical bloods to make use of the precious time to plan the perfect night that they are anticipating.

Jihoon himself has given up trying to listen about 20 minutes ago, but he rather listened to Professor Binn than the sweet nothings his best friend is whispering to Hyungseob at the very moment, reminding Jihoon of the reason why he hates adjoining classes with the Hufflepuffs the most – though classes with the Gryffindors would annoy him too, even if it is mainly caused by the presence of Joo Haknyeon. Nevertheless, the way universe works is always against Jihoon’s wish anyway, and he only has a single class with the Ravenclaws this year, tough luck.

In his effort to ignore his surrounding, he does not notice that a boy has slid into the small space on his left, and it is when the boy nudges him to shift so that he can sit more comfortably that he is aware of the boy’s presence.

“Donghan,” he says, shifting to his right and purposely pushing Woojin out of the way in the process, much to his friend’s disgruntlement. “I thought you are already falling asleep at the back.”

Donghan chuckles. “Almost, but the girls are so loud with the gossips; it is too interesting to miss.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes; Donghan is almost as bad as Haknyeon with the gossiping but Jihoon can trust Donghan to not to run his mouth, at least not carelessly as their other friend is.

“Who are you going to the ball with?” he asks casually, more of an obligation these days than curiosity. It is almost a greeting now, that when he sees people on the hallways, he is always greeted with the question instead of a ‘Hey’ – he is yet to decide what to feel about it.

Donghan’s cheeks turns a shade of pale pink. “Kim Taedong asked me yesterday so I guess I’m going with him.”

A teasing smirk creeps on Jihoon’s face, which earns him a bashful shove on the shoulder from Donghan, whose eyes are now crinkling in an excited grin.

“Who are you going with?” he asks in return.

Jihoon shrugs. “Haven’t decided yet. Might bring one the kids; they seem like wanting to go so badly.”

“Lai Guanlin and Bae Jinyoung from Ravenclaw?” Donghan asks for confirmation, even though everyone in Jihoon’s small circle of friends knows it would be the two underclassmen, who like to tail Jihoon at their free times, and Jihoon, who has no problem snapping at friends his age, is way too kind to ignore their pestering most of the time. “Bet lots of the girls will ask them, though.”

“That’s what I told them,” Jihoon sighs. He has naively thought that Jinyoung and Guanlin will opt to go home for Christmas when Professor McGonagall announced that the Ball is only open for 5th year students and above, while the rest of the younger students can only go as a partner of the aforementioned students. The two of them decided to stay anyway – since most of the student body are staying – while hinting that Jihoon probably needs one of them to go to the ball with, which sounds like pressuring obligation more than anything.

It is not as if they actually need Jihoon to bring them to the ball; they are handsome enough to be asked by any of the senior girls to be their dates of the nights, or perhaps some the older boys as well.  Guanlin has just turned 13 this year, yet he is already a few centimetres taller than Jihoon – a fact he has not stopped rejoicing for since the start of the term, much to Jihoon’s misery. Jinyoung, on the other hand, is a year older than Guanlin and a year younger than Jihoon, and has been a head taller than Jihoon since the puberty hits him last year. Jihoon has always attributed to the fact that they both easily tower over him as the reasons why he rarely can say anything against them, especially when his friends (read: Woojin) teases him about how soft he is with the younger boys – but everyone has taken it as Jihoon simply being weak against anyone who adores him.

“Oh, I almost forget,” Donghan exclaims suddenly, putting his hands inside his robe as if in search for something. “You know Kim Yongguk from my house, right? He’s a year ahead.”

Jihoon tries to match the name with some familiar faces in his head. “The one that looks like a feline?”

“The very one,” affirms Donghan as he procures a small piece of rigid parchment from his pocket. “He’s helping out at a cat café in Hogsmeade on every Hogsmeade weekends and told me to give you this coupon.”

“What kind of place is a _cat café_?” Jihoon asks, perplexed, though he takes the coupon anyway. It says that the bearer of the coupon is entitled of 2-hour stay and a free drink but nothing else that gives away any information about this strange establishment.

“It’s like a tea shop, kind of like Madam Puddifoot’s, but there are also cats, so you can play with them while you enjoy your drink,” Donghan explains, knowing fully well the concept is foreign to Jihoon, as it was to him until early this term when he visited the shop for the first time. “Apparently, it’s famous among the Muggles community so the owner thought why not give it a shot at Hogsmeade.”

Jihoon scrunches his nose in a distrusting manner. “A Muggle tea shop, then?”

Donghan clucks his tongue in disapproval at Jihoon’s show of common ignorant Pure-blooded trait. “It’s just a tea shop, with cats. They are pretty cute; you should give it a try since it’s free anyway.”

“Plus, you are like a cat yourself,” Hyungseob pipes in from his seat on Jihoon’s right side; who knows when he has started to listen to the conversation between Jihoon and Donghan.

“Annoyingly ungrateful,” adds Woojin, nodding in agreement as if vouching for a general fact.   

“Why don’t you two just keep sucking each other’s faces and stay out of my business?!” This time Jihoon decides to just forgo his wand and smack their heads together, much to Donghan’s amusement.

He has been meaning to ask Jihoon if he knows why Yongguk is giving the coupon specifically to him – and straight-forwardly told Donghan off when Donghan asked for one as well – but the matter conveniently leaves his mind as he watches Jihoon bickering against the Woojin-Hyungseob couple, a scenario that is by no means rare, but never gets less amusing each time.

 

* * *

 

There is a thought that crosses Jihoon’s mind as he wanders around the Hogsmeade alleys passing the shops flourishing with their student customers on the sunny Sunday – that perhaps his impulse decision to check out the cat café that he has a coupon for will significantly affect his image as a Slytherin Prince, as the girls like to call him at times behind his back when they think he is not listening, or if such curiosity that leads him to make the decision is really in conjunction to common Slytherin traits.

Plus, he already thinks Slytherin Prince is a very undeserved nickname, considering that he is not even a Parselmouth. 

When he gets to the establishment according to little quilled map at the back of the coupon, the place marked with tiny scrawl of kitten face and tail, he is stopped by another thought from entering, most probably incited by the fact that almost all the shop patrons are females – and he could even spot those who call him the Slytherin Prince.

In fact he is about to turn on his heels when he somehow locks eyes with Kim Yongguk, who is just done serving a pair of girls their drinks, and there are exactly three seconds of shared silence between the two before Yongguk gives him a smile and beckons him to step into the shop with a tilt of his head, and Jihoon finds himself slipping amongst the seats and the customers and the cats, trying not to be noticed as he follows Yongguk to the bar seat at the crook of the café, near the drink-making section and seemingly a less popular seat probably due to the relatively low comfortableness as compared to the snuggly sofas and bean bags scattered at the front part of the store.

Jihoon grins at Yongguk, who is standing awkwardly over the bar counter, smile still plastered on his face. “So, I got the coupon from Donghan.”

“Oh, yeah,” says Yongguk, taking the coupon from Jihoon and stowing it away under the counter without much a glance. He proceeds to pass Jihoon a menu. “So, why don’t you try to decide on a drink and I’ll get back to you in a minute? I’m sorry, I sort of have other drinks to make.”

“No, it’s okay, take your time, I’ll just take a look on the menu first,” Jihoon waves him off.

When Yongguk busies himself with the drink orders, though, Jihoon sets the menu down and lets his eyes wander around the interior of the café instead. It is a fairly small shop, perhaps half the size of the famous Three Broomsticks, yet slightly more roomy than tiny Madam Puddifoot’s – but instead of the usual sets of tables and chairs, most of the seats here consist of couches and low tea tables, with occasional beanbags at the corners, which Jihoon could only assume for the convenience of playing the wandering felines. It is too bad that Jihoon has no other experience with these cat cafés that he can do comparisons with, nor that he has any idea of the ambience of the café is conventional to the theme – but he has a vague guess that the Muggles cat cafés perhaps will be more well-lit, even if the ambience created by the oil lamps hung high near the ceilings around the café, against the dark walls, agrees more with the nature of the cats in general.

Deciding that he likes the overall mood of the café, perhaps minus the occasional giggling and cooing from the female patrons, Jihoon returns his attention to the menu given to him. The drinks are generic at most, hot beverages such as coffees and teas, and cold options include juices and mocktails. Jihoon, being Jihoon, are more interested on the food menu, though the list is considerably shorter and consists of a total number of four choices of pastries; boring croissants, generic apple pies, messy shortcakes, and Jihoon’s absolute favourite scones.

He is not about to spend any money at the café since the coupon includes a free drink, but now he has to rethink about that.

“Have you decided?”

 _That does not sound like Yongguk_ ; the thought flashes in Jihoon’s mind as he looks up the person behind the counter, which is, indeed, not Kim Yongguk.

“Oh, hey, Kang Daniel,” greets Jihoon, mildly surprised because he is not aware of Daniel’s presence in the café, much more as a staff, as indicated by his presence in the drink-making area. “I didn’t know you work here as well.”

“Now you do,” Daniel replies with an amused grin. “So, any drink for you?”

“Iced Americano, please, thanks.”

Daniel raises an eyebrow at the choice of drink. “Americano? You sure?”

Jihoon purses his lips as he hands over the menu decidedly. “Yes, and oh, hold the sugar.”

“Jihoon, I won’t tell the girls even if you order hot chocolate with extra marshmallows,” there are mischievous glints in Daniel’s eyes when he takes the menu from Jihoon and returns it to the stack near the counter. “It’s cold, why would you order an iced coffee?”

 _Because hot Americano tastes like some watered-down cinders, and he cannot possibly order hot chocolate just like the girls, for Merlin’s sake_ , is what Jihoon wants to tell Daniel but as amicable as Daniel is, they are not actually close enough for Jihoon to show that side of him to the older boy.

And Daniel serves the drink quick enough that Jihoon does not need to come up with any response, though he already regrets his choice when he sees the ice blocks in the glass and the condensations that are quickly forming on the outer of the glass.

“Tell me if you want another drink,” says Daniel as he drags a stool and takes a seat opposite of Jihoon on the other side of the bar counter.

“I’m using a coupon that says only one free drink, though,” Jihoon replies. “Kim Yongguk gave it to me,” he adds after an afterthought.

“I know,” Daniel says a little bit too quick, and proceeds to look flustered for some reason. “But the manager is out today so no one really cares if I give you a free drink or two.”

“Then, you should give me scones,” Jihoon mutters under his breath before taking a sip of his coffee. He realizes that Daniel actually holds the sugar, much to his uncalled disappointment as it is per his request, but the aftertaste on his tongue after is somewhat sweet, nevertheless, which makes he looks at the barista enquiringly.

“A little bit of vanilla syrup,” Daniel explains with a wink.

Jihoon rolls his eyes but gives Daniel an appreciative smile at the same time. “No Quidditch practices today? You guys are up next week against Ravenclaws, right?”

Daniel shakes his head. “Nah, we don’t have practices during Hogsmeade weekends; that’s when our captain goes on dates with his girlfriend and is totally not available for anything else.”

“Ong Sungwoo?” Jihoon asks for confirmation because he only vaguely remembers the piece of information; for all he knows, the pillar of Gryffindor Quidditch team is the Seeker, which is Hwang Minhyun. “I didn’t know he has a girlfriend.”

“You didn’t know?” asks Daniel incredulously, eyes widened as if it is a general information that Jihoon should have had instilled in his head. “You can find them snogging everywhere around the school, though – I am convinced that they are trying to make out at every crook of the castles at least once before they graduate – but don’t tell Sungwoo I said that.”

Jihoon laughs at Daniel’s exaggerated manner of gossiping and takes another sip of his vanilla-laced coffee as he listens to Daniel retelling on how he walked into Sungwoo with his girlfriend doing the unthinkable in Quidditch waiting room. At some point of the story that has turned into a long-winded series with Jihoon empathising by sharing equally embarrassing encounters with Woojin and Hyungseob, Yongguk passes Daniel some orders from the new customers, to which Daniel responded with a sigh, as if reluctant to leave the conversation.

He wonders if it is the caffeine, or the vanilla syrup, or the combination of both – but when Daniel gets off his seat to make the drinks, there is an unexplainable drop tugging down his heartstring, subtle but totally not called for; because obviously Daniel has works to do when the café is bustling with customers and Jihoon does not remember coming to the café specifically to talk to Daniel, anyway.

Nonetheless, he sips his coffee in an alarming rate, and as noisy as he could be with the clacking of the ice cubes when he unnecessarily swirls the straw. It almost feels like throwing tantrums – Woojin would totally call it Jihoon throwing tantrums – yet it is not clear at whom he is throwing tantrums and what for; since – he just recalls – Daniel and Jihoon are barely friends and before today, it has been a while since they last talked because –

 _Oh_. He remembers why he is not updated about Ong Sungwoo now.

 

A fancily-decorated ceramic plate is pushed towards him suddenly, on it five scones that look like they are plated in a rush and certainly. When he takes a look at the perpetrator, Daniel is holding a finger on his lips and winks before he returns to preparing the foods that have actually been ordered.  

Daniel probably should have done this two years ago, is what Jihoon thinks when he takes the first bite of the scones.  

 

Jihoon is just thinking about leaving after he finishes the scones – there are still two on the plate because he has been savouring them slowly, for they are almost better than those prepared by the elves in the castle – when Daniel slides a cup of hot latte carefully over the counter, and takes away Jihoon’s empty glass of what that had been the best black coffee he had ever drank. 

“You are not going to make me pay after this, aren’t you?” Jihoon says suspiciously with squinted eyes as if he can see Daniel’s ulterior motives if he looks carefully.

Daniel chuckles as he wipes his hands on the mini apron around his waist. “I swear by Merlin’s beard I won’t.”

“So, what’s with the extra perks; are you going for The Best Staff Award or –”

The bell on the door chimes as it is opened, taking away Daniel’s attention at once and thus letting Jihoon’s words hang on mid-air, as he, too, cranes his neck to see the new customers, although it is barely his business. He is expecting some more giggling girls, but entering the shop, instead, are tall boys with Hogwarts scarfs wrapped loosely around their necks – the boy on the front is wearing Jihoon’s house colour of emerald green and silver, and Jihoon holds his breath wishing for just not that one person but as his eyes transition up from the scarf, his sight meets the one and only Kang Dongho.

Kang Dongho’s presence is not deterring on his own, he is a senior Jihoon sees a lot in their common room and sometimes play Exploding Snap with, but Jihoon can already see the Hufflepuff scarf peeking behind Dongho’s buff figure and that only means he has come with Choi Minki from the same grade – with Kang Dongho and Choi Minki, 9 out of 10 will there be their other friends, and one of those other friends is someone Jihoon would rather not see in a cat café.

Yet, following closely to Choi Minki’s excited ass and towering over the two of them, his robe flowing gracefully behind him as if he is wearing something else instead of the same robe as any other Hogwarts students around as he runs his fingers through his slightly messy hair, is Hwang Minhyun. 

If the three of them are bothered by the fact that they are the only male customers in the store, or that the girls have started to gush over their unexpected presence, they do not show it – Dongho and Minhyun immediately approach the counter to order drinks while Minki plops on the nearest bean bag, in his hands a purring white Siamese kitten. 

“So, this is where our Daniel is working at,” says Minhyun amiably, his eyes forming crescents as he smiles at the fellow Gryffindor behind the cash register. “You got permission from the Headmistress, right?”

“Of course, Minhyun,” Daniel answers at once, yet Jihoon notices that Daniel is barely sharing the happy sentiment Minhyun is sporting upon seeing him. At one point while Daniel is taking Dongho’s order, their eyes meet when Daniel glances on Jihoon’s way and it does not go unnoticed by Minhyun’s observant gaze, who now realises Jihoon’s presence at the crook of the store.

 

“Oh, Jihoon’s here,” he says, face lights up in a pleasant surprise and Jihoon covers his upcoming crush-induced palpitation with a light-hearted chuckle, a big wide smile and a wave towards the senior.

Dongho goes to sit with Minki after he finishes with his order, picking up a black mini Panther hybrid on his way, but Minhyun walks along the bar counter instead and pulls out the high stool next to Jihoon. Jihoon wonders if this is an immediate karma for staying more than two hours allocated in his voucher, or receiving more food or drinks than he should – though, that’s Daniel’s doing – but for any reason it is, he is fervently repenting right now.

“I didn’t know you like cats,” Jihoon tries to start a conversation, convincing himself that he can do _this_ , because this is just Minhyun, and Minhyun is a good guy and Jihoon _can_ talk to a good guy without his friends around him, like he always does when Minhyun is around – after all he is the Slytherin Prince, albeit with certain weakness for whatever cologne Minhyun has put on at the very moment.

“Well, Dongho and Minki wanted to check out the place; I’m just free,” says Minhyun, eyeing his two friends who have their heads together trying to make their cats fist fighting each other. “What about you?”

“Oh, Yongguk gave me a coupon, Daniel gave me free food...”

As if summoned, Daniel appears with Minhyun’s drink – elegant cup of cappuccino, which he serves with a smile so polite it has to be a customer service protocol, before throwing Jihoon a look that the younger cannot quite decipher.

Woojin has always said Jihoon is bad at reading people’s gestures and can be – taking his very words – “insufferably dense” sometimes, but Jihoon is pretty sure Daniel is miffed about something that Jihoon does, though that leads to another thing to decipher because Jihoon has not been doing anything since last time Daniel talks amicably with him, which is few minutes ago.

He wonders if it is because he has not thanked the boy for all the freebies.

“Daniel,” he calls out to the barista, but Daniel already leaves the counter to deliver the drinks to Dongho and Minki. Another whiff of annoyance sweeps around him, but it is soon replaced by the real whiff of Minhyun’s perfume as he leans a little closer to Jihoon, bending slightly over his cup of coffee – and any thought of Daniel is immediately substituted by the fact Jihoon needs to find another topic of conversation as not to look like a loser next to Hwang Minhyun.

And perhaps, just a slight possibility akin to the sightings of merpeople in Hogwarts Black Lake, that this is a perfect chance for Jihoon to somehow ask Minhyun to go with the ball with him, or make Minhyun take him to the ball with _him_ – whichever situation that will end up with them going to the ball together.

“So, Minhyun,” he begins, hoping his teeth are not chattering like his head is trying to convince him. “Aren’t you prefects busy with the preparations for the ball?”

Minhyun nods, scrunching his face to slight frown for a bit before returning to his model student façade of perfect smile again. “Yeah, we have another meeting with the teachers tonight. Have you decided who to go with?”

Jihoon has expected the question, as he is bringing it up to himself, but being the receiving end of the question still takes him aback nevertheless and he cannot help but to stutter when he replies, “No, not yet. What about you?”

It has been quite sometimes since Jihoon feels this nervous; the last time is probably when he had his first flying lessons with Madam Hooch because 11-year-old him, raised in a household of highly accomplished wizards and witches, had a stupid notion of _what if he cannot make fly a broom and embarrass his whole family_ – and the fact that Minhyun has this habit of staring into eyes of people he is talking to is totally not helping the erratic beating of his heart right now and Jihoon resolves into holding his breath in his attempt to appear composed.

He really wishes Minhyun will stop looking at him like he remotely has a chance.   

 

* * *

 

Woojin prides himself as a good friend most of the times, and right now is one of those times because other people who are concerned about Jihoon’s absence in the Great Hall during dinner – not many, really – will most probably check the Slytherin dormitory first, but Woojin has a better hunch about the potion section among the thousands of shelves in the school magnificent library, instead.

And true enough, there Jihoon is, sitting cross-legged with his back leaning on the shelves and head buried in a thick potion book, absolutely without any care about his state of robes against the dusty floor. His eyebrows are furrowed together in concentration at whatever the content he is reading but Woojin knows that his friend is aware of his presence by the small sigh that escapes his mouth when Woojin is close enough.

“Why are you not at the dinner?” Woojin goes straight to his point, as he contemplates whether to sit down next to Jihoon and dirties his newly washed robe that he is just putting on over his pyjamas for a while for dinner at the Great Hall and planning to wear again tomorrow to the class. He decides to remain standing at last, carefully leaning on the slightly less dusty shelves opposite to Jihoon.

“I’m not hungry. I had a lot of scones.”

Woojin contorts his face in enquiry, demanding for elaboration on the statement and the shortly realizes that Jihoon is not looking at him so the facial expression alone does not do the trick. “I was at Madam Puddifoot’s; didn’t see you there.  Actually – you said you were going to Hogsmeade, but I didn’t see you around at all.”

Jihoon makes a sound at the back of his throat that indicates how annoying he finds having to explain things to Woojin but that has never deterred his friend once in the five years they have been friends, so he knows it is not going to suddenly work now. “I was at that cat café Donghan gave the coupon for. They have pretty good scones.”

 _Especially because they are free_ , Jihoon adds in his head because Woojin does not need to know that.

Woojin mutters a curt “I see”, before a long silence ensues.

“I met Minhyun at the café,” Jihoon finally relents, because if there is someone who will believe that Jihoon is skipping dinner because he had too many scones for tea, it will not be Park Woojin.”

Now that is more of what Woojin would like to hear. “Did you ask him about the ball?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon pauses for a dramatic effect, though it ends up with a sigh. “He’s going with Yoo Seonho.”

“Yoo Seonho? That third year from Ravenclaw?”

“Is there any other Yoo Seonho because I’m pretty sure the name is not that common,” Jihoon snaps.

At other times Woojin would probably come up with an equally snarky remark, but not when Jihoon is obviously upset that he loses his potential ball date to a younger boy that just happens to be a tad bid closer than he is too Minhyun, and just as good-looking, yet much taller than Jihoon probably ever be even when the puberty spurt hits him.

“Oh, you poor thing,” he says, sincerely meaning all his words.

Jihoon looks up to him for the first time since the conversation starts, eyes drooped, and lips pursed down in his typical kicked puppy face. “I know right. Pet me.”

Woojin snorts incredulously, but he gathers his robes and crouches in front of his friend all the same before caressing his head like he has done million times before. “So, will it be Bae Jinyoung? Lai Guanlin?  You can show Hwang Minhyun you have a Ravenclaw in disposal, too; and either one of them is arguably more good-looking than Yoo Seonho, anyway.” 

“You know that’s not the point,” Jihoon chides him at once. He lets out another sigh right after. “Should I just go home for Christmas, Woojin? At least I will know who I am going to eat my Christmas dinner with, and my mom always makes a mean stuffed turkey as if it’s Thanksgiving.”

“I don’t know; as much I acknowledge not going with Emperor Hwang is a big deal in term of your unrealistically high expectation of life, I don’t think it is good enough a reason to bail the whole ball off.”

“I guess that’s right; Daniel said so, too...”

“Daniel?” Woojin’s ears perk up at the random mention of the name. “Kang Daniel? The Gryffindor’s Keeper?”

Jihoon rolls his eyes, annoyed. “Yes, the Gryffindor’s Keeper.”

This time, Woojin’s stare is enough to make Jihoon – reluctantly and with another roll of eyes – surrenders more explanation for his vague anecdote.

“He works at the cat café too, with Kim Yongguk. We talked for a bit at the café, and then we walked home to the castle together too, you know, since we were going the same way. We talked about the ball, because what else is there to talk about nowadays, and he asked who am I going to the ball with, _like you did_ , and I said I might I go home for Christmas after all, and he said it would be quite a pity to miss the ball, _like you did_ and that’s it,” there is a slight pause, before he adds on an afterthought. “I haven’t talked to Kang Daniel for a while, right? Somehow it is so easy to pick it up with him again; though Merlin knows why he’s suddenly been so nice to me.”

“Right.” Woojin actually has a lot more to say, because it does not take Merlin to figure out Kang Daniel’s sudden character development around Jihoon – not with the little information Haknyeon has dropped them a week ago, that has conveniently escapes from Jihoon’s mind. Perhaps he should remind Jihoon about it; it is not difficult to draw a big picture on what is going on by putting two and two together, an area Jihoon definitely needs a help in – but Woojin knows it is not the right time to push Jihoon into something else, not when he has just been subtly rejected by someone he believes he has taken a fancy on.

Jihoon should realise this by himself, he decides – and for some reason, he has a good hunch that Jihoon can do this on his own – as long as Kang Daniel plays his cards better than he is at being a Keeper.

 

* * *

 

 

 It is funny how you can just start noticing a certain person being around when all these times the person might as well blend in the surrounding, like an Invisibility Cloak has just been lifted – and that is how Jihoon feels about Kang Daniel after the cat café visit; out of a sudden he can pinpoint Daniel’s strawberry blonde hair amidst the many heads on the Gryffindor table during meals, and realize that his Herbology class on the Wednesday is right after the 6th year classes, which means saying hi to Daniel on his way to the greenhouse and watches as Daniel actually takes a step back, seemingly dazed before he waved back, successfully bumping into his friend next to him, who just shakes his head helplessly.

Bumping into each other at the castle hallways is nothing much, but there are some instances that this renewed friendship turns things a little tad awkward.

Right now, when Jihoon is walking with Guanlin towards the Quidditch pitch, the latter looking gracefully dashing in his jersey and cape, with and a Firebolt in one hand, for moral support while Daniel and the rest of his team in their glorious red-gold ensembles striding closely behind – for an example.

“You will do just _fine_ , Guanlin,” Jihoon pulls the younger friend aside for a stop, his third attempt on their way from the Great Hall after breakfast. “I need to get to the audience stand now or else I won’t have a seat; you know we can’t trust Park Woojin and Ahn Hyungseob.”

Guanlin tries to laugh at Jihoon’s intended humour, but all he manages is a strained smile, his guts feeling funny at the sight of all the other players around him. He has been playing in the team since the second half of previous semester, but it was a pretty bad term for the Ravenclaw team that he did not get to participate in many matches yet so this nerve that gets to him right before the game is still unfamiliar to him. The fact that he is not really close with his team members, mostly consist of 6th and 7th year seniors do not help, and while it seems to be ridiculous, Jihoon’s presence is all that can help him in this situation.

“Should we make a bet? I will give you something if you do well,” proposes Jihoon, knowing full well that it will trigger Guanlin’s competitiveness and speeds the whole process, because he is aware that his presence as a non-player, and more so a Slytherin is attracting some unnecessary attention at the moment.

That considerably perks Guanlin up. Colours start to return to his pale cheeks as they raise up with the smile his lips are forming.

“Really?” he asks excitedly, gripping his broomstick more determinedly when Jihoon nods. “Then, if I catch the snitch, will you take me to the ball with you?”

Jihoon groans, berating himself to not being able to see that in his plan. Of course, now that he knows he is not able to go to the ball with the person he wants, going with Guanlin is indeed a viable option. However, Guanlin is not the only hopeful Ravenclaw around him and there is no telling what a certain 4th year with a small face, long legs and a dangerous combination of wit and love for mischief will do if he ends up taking Guanlin over an obviously one-sided bet.

“Not that, Guanlin,” Jihoon says exasperatedly. “Jinyoung will find it not fair because he doesn’t play Quidditch; we will never hear the end of it. Something else, please, and quick, you are going to be late!”

Guanlin wants to argue because it is not _his_ fault that Bae Jinyoung does not play Quidditch, but he notices that look of impatience on both Jihoon and his captain’s faces and decided not to push his luck.

“Then, if I catch the Snitch, you owe me a kiss on cheek,” he exclaims, looking thoroughly proud of himself for coming up with that. “That’s a promise, Jihoon!”

Jihoon opens his mouth to protest, but Guanlin gives his hand one last squeeze before sprinting to join his team member ahead. He closes it again resignedly, secretly hoping that Minhyun will catch the Snitch first but, upon thinking about Guanlin’s dejected face, then decides that he will remain neutral for the match. Perhaps he should stop being acquainted with too many Quidditch players to make his life a little bit easier.

Yet, in absence of Lai Guanlin, another Quidditch player stands right in front of him.

Jihoon has never seen a Keeper’s chest gear up close before, so he finds it pretty interesting, and misses the first few words when Daniel starts talking.

“– quite interesting. Can I make a bet with you, too? If I let less than three Quaffles in today, go Christmas shopping with me next weekend.”

“Huh?” At this point, Jihoon does not quite know what he should expect from the game, or the strange turn of events in his school life, for that matters.

 

 

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Woojin asks as they are walking back to the castle after the match ends, or in Jihoon’s case, dragging his feet to move, his face void of any expression. “Were you still rooting for Emperor Hwang? Too bad your puppy ended up catching the Snitch, then – though the Gryffindor played exceptionally well today, Kang Daniel actually didn’t let in a goal even once, what an improvement from the previous game...”

 

* * *

 

It is much easier to explain to Woojin about why he has to kiss Guanlin then to somehow let it out that he has to go Christmas shopping with Kang Daniel, but for some reason Woojin does not enquire much about it. That is pretty out of character of his best friend, but Jihoon does not want to push his luck and before he knows it, he is standing in front of the cat café (he has just noticed it is called _Quattuor Feles_ ) waiting for Daniel to end his morning shift.

Daniel appears at the door quick enough, dressed in his Hogwarts robes instead of the café uniform, with a cup of warm beverage on his hand, which he hands to Jihoon.

“Vanilla latte,” he says without being asked. “It’s cold today so warm yourself with that before we go.”

Jihoon takes a sip of the coffee, but not without noticing Daniel’s attire of the day. Indeed, the temperature has dropped for many degrees this lately, and Jihoon is donning his furry winter cloak and his Slytherin scarf around his neck, but Daniel is wearing neither.

“Yet you are wearing only that?” he asks, referring to Daniel’s statement of the day being cold.

Daniel waves him off airily. “I don’t get cold easily. Plus, I’m wearing a sweater under the robes. Do you want to see?”

He wriggles his eyebrows suggestively, which earns him a semi-violent shove from Jihoon. Jihoon might not look like it, but based on the soreness of his upper arm shortly after, it seems that the little body might contain quite a bit of physical strength after all. Daniel reminds himself to take note of that the next time he decides to joke around with Jihoon.

The two of them are not the only ones who have left the Christmas shopping until the last weekend before the break; in fact, the shops are practically bustling with customers in quests of searching the perfect gifts, or simply obligatory purchases, for loved ones. Daniel seems to be in the middle of the two categories, claiming that he needs second opinions for his choices of presents, and quick enough to make decisions after. Jihoon is glad that Daniel is not at all fussy (last year he made a mistake of going Christmas shopping with Haknyeon, where he pretended to lose him in the crowd halfway) but he also thinks that Daniel is in no dire needs of friend to go shopping with.

Daniel’s shopping is quickly concluded because he only gives presents to those the closest to him; his mother, his father, Ong Sungwoo and a Muggle friend back at home called Jisung. Daniel has shared with Jihoon how he decided not to give presents to too many people because if he starts giving some to those he consider friends, he might miss some of them on the same level of acquaintance and he cannot possibly give presents to _everyone_.

It makes Jihoon to rethink about the people he is about to buy presents for; his parents, his brother, Woojin, Hyungseob, Guanlin, Jinyoung, as well as Haknyeon and Donghan when he is feeling generous – that is quite an extensive list as compared to Daniel’s.

And not to mention he is thinking of giving _someone_ a present for the first time this year.

Jihoon has similar style to Daniel on choosing gifts, that is buying the first thing he deems suitable; thus, Daniel has no chances of offering useful opinions – except for when Jihoon is about to buy Bertie Bott’s All Flavour Beans Christmas Special Box for Haknyeon at Honeydukes Sweetshop.

“He already bought it for himself,” Daniel tells him. “Saw him trying them at common room last night; he said the pork chops ones are good and pine is not too bad.”

“Oh, well, he’s getting another box or nothing at all,” Jihoon says as he puts two boxes in his basket, one for Haknyeon and Donghan each, for simplicity, and makes the beeline to the counter to pay. Something crosses his mind while he waits, and he turns to Daniel who is standing next to him, his eyes fixed at the sweets displayed on the shelves. “You are close with Haknyeon, aren’t you?”    

Daniel drops the pack of Jelly Slugs that he is holding and immediately dives to retrieve it. “No,” he says as he gets up again. “I mean, we are both in Gryffindor and plays in the team, but that’s all, I guess?”

Jihoon scrunches his face as if trying to remember something. “Weird, I think there’s something about you and Haknyeon that I forgot, but never mind.”

Once they make it out from Honeydukes with much difficulties, Jihoon mentally crosses everything in his list of Christmas purchases – all except for one.

“Daniel,” he says a bit more quietly than he would. “Do you mind if we drop by Twilfitt and Tatting's for a bit?”

Daniel shrugs. “Not at all, we still got plenty of time. I didn’t know they have a branch here in Hogsmeade, though.”

“I only knew because my mother only shops at Twilfitt and Tatting's,” Jihoon explains with a slight roll of eyes. Sometimes his mother’s pompousness, no matter how harmless, rubs him off the wrong way but he has to admit that Twilfitt and Tatting's carries products of higher quality anyway.

There is a very significant change of air if one is to compare the disarrayed and jam-packed Honeydukes to the spacious and definitely not as popular Twilfitt and Tatting's. There are only a few customers, some girls that Jihoon might have seen at their common room, attended by a female shopkeeper that looks like she could not wait for the shift to end.

She will find that Jihoon a much better customer to attend to as he already has an idea of what to get, and he makes his way to the scarf section at once, with Daniel trotting behind him. The new line of cashmere wool scarves greets them, displayed beautifully on the shelves according to the colour schemes.

Jihoon takes one of the navy stack, his head picturing how it will make a good change of look for Minhyun, who always stick with his house colours of red and gold. A cool colour for a cool person – it will definitely suit Minhyun, though Minhyun probably suits pretty much everything.

“That’s pretty,” Daniel comments. “Who is it for?”

“Someone,” Jihoon answers curtly, because while he and Daniel are surely getting along very well, he is not yet comfortable to disclose his helpless crush to him, especially when Daniel and Minhyun are quite acquainted through Quidditch and all.

It takes Daniel only a few second to understand Jihoon’s answer, and even if Jihoon is not aware yet, Daniel already knows who the scarf is supposed to be for. He is not even sure if knowing, in this case, is a blessing or he should have stayed in the bliss of ignorance, but the searing pain that he feels somewhere in his chest right now is not pleasant at all.

He has thought that he is making quite a progress recently – last month just thinking about going around Hogsmeade with Jihoon would have been a ridiculous stretch – but now that he is watching as Jihoon compares one scarf to another, taking his time to decide on the best one for someone obviously so important to him, he wonders if he even has the slightest chance at all.

His change of mood does not go unnoticed by Jihoon, who halts from circling the shelves and peering at Daniel’s face instead.

“Are you okay?” he asks concernedly because Daniel honestly does not look too good.

“I’m fine,” answers Daniel with a smile that does not reach his eyes. “Have you decided on one?”

At that question, Jihoon sighs. “It’s not about choosing one of those. I’m just wondering if I should be buying it or not. What are the chances the person will like getting a present from me at all?”

“1/200?” Daniel suggests, and when Jihoon looks at him inquiringly, he gestures at the thread count on the label of the scarf he is holding. It makes Jihoon laughs, and even though not by much, it makes him feel better. “I couldn’t imagine someone not being happy getting a present from you.”

Jihoon looks considerably cheered up by that but in the end, he decides that he needs more time to think about it. The shopkeeper gives him a form and tells him he can send it by an owl to place an order and his purchase will be flown directly to him by the shop owl, for which Jihoon thank her.

“I thought you are going to buy the scarf you were holding,” says Jihoon once they are out of the store. He has not missed the way Daniel looks especially taken to the scarf all the while they were in the store and was surprised that he returned it to the shelves and follow Jihoon out empty-handed.

Daniel shakes his head but does not say anything more. In fact, they walk with the crowd of student that are also returning to the school in silence, which is rather daunting because Daniel has been chatty in a few but all occasions they have walked together. Jihoon is never good at making small talks either, so if Daniel thinks he is not up for a conversation, silence will it be.

Yet, something that Jihoon thinks worth noticing after his renewed acquaintance with Daniel as of lately is it is never uncomfortable with Daniel. Their conversation flows well, and they have similar sense of humour, and Daniel responds to his snarky remarks with lame yet witty replies so they can conclude the topic in a way both of them agrees to – and at times, whether when he is with Daniel or is randomly thinking about Daniel (this happens quite a lot recently), he catches himself comparing Daniel with Minhyun, though he stops himself every single time because there should not be any comparison at all.  

Daniel is, after all, slowly becoming a friend, a good one while at it – but Jihoon has never wanted to be just friends with Minhyun.

At that premise, certainly no comparisons should be made. Jihoon just needs to keep reminding that to himself – no matter how heart-fluttering he finds Daniel’s action sometimes, or how much he enjoys the time spent with Daniel, while it matters.

 

Jihoon can already see the castle when Daniel suddenly stops dead on his track, his eyes fixed at the entrance of the castle, that is small from where they are looking from, but is already visible.

“Jihoon, can you go first?” he tells the younger boy. “I think I have to drop by at the café for a bit.”

“I can go with you, it’s still early,” Jihoon counters, not really a fan of walking alone in a crowd of students that might takes his lack of company as an invitation to hang around him.

“There’s no need to,” Daniel insists, looking so reluctant by the suggestion and so, Jihoon drops the notion at once. “See you around at school, alright? Thank you for coming with me today, really appreciated it.”  

 

* * *

 

A bunch of girls, the third years by the look of them, shyly say hi to him before scrambling away in hushed giggles as he makes his way towards the castle. He sighs at their antics, but at the same time thinking that it is cute, and wonders if that is what it looks like to his friends regarding his crush on Minhyun. Of course, he can hold a conversation with Minhyun just fine, albeit butterflies rampaging inside his guts each time, making the experience less than comfortable, thus looking at Minhyun from afar is a much better option

Yoo Seonho probably does not have that problem, because the third year basically “threatened to throw tantrums is he is not taken with,” as Minhyun had told him weeks ago, while chuckling helplessly at the ridiculousness of the situation. It strikes him now that Minhyun probably finds Seonho adorable as he did to the girls, –  and perhaps something more, too because when he walks some more steps towards the entrance of the castle, he can see the two of them chatting away on the side where prefects are supposed to stand guard and keep an eye at the students going back from Hogwarts.

Minhyun catches the sight of him before Jihoon manages to slip past, and calls him up.

“Hey, Minhyun, Seonho” he greets half-heartedly, though he manages a cheery smile somehow.

“Hey,” Seonho chirps, eyes darting at the many packages in Jihoon’s hold. “Christmas shopping?”

Jihoon nods. “Have you done yours?”

“Ordered them all weeks ago,” replies Seonho, his chest puffing out in pride of being the first to complete his Christmas obligation, at which Jihoon and Minhyun shares resigned shake of heads at. “I like that almost all shops offer deliveries now, Minhyun was telling me it was not like that when he was my age.”

“Don’t talk like I am _that_ old – and even if you finish your present shopping early, it doesn’t mean that you should give them out a week before Christmas,” Minhyun chides as he knocks Seonho’s head playfully, before returning his attention to Jihoon. “You went shopping alone? Where’s Woojin?”    

“With Hyungseob, I suppose,” Jihoon shrugs, rolling his eyes slightly much to Minhyun’s amusement. “But I’m buying stuffs for them, too so I’d rather if they don’t tag alone.”

He then realizes that he has not answered Minhyun’s main question about going shopping alone and is about to tell him about going with Daniel but at the same time, Seonho has just used Jihoon’s remark to reiterate his point about shopping by delivery being superior, while not forgetting to add “but the scarf looks really good on you, so I want to give it to you as soon as possible.”

It is only then that Jihoon notices the long piece of fabric that is loosely looped around Minhyun’s neck; the same muted navy, cashmere scarf that he has contemplated over for almost an hour in Twilfitt and Tatting's earlier. It _indeed_ looks good on Minhyun, the cool colour complementing his pale complexion, even when paired with something as dull as their school robes – and apparently, he shares the same opinion as Seonho. For some reason, he finds it quite funny, and that surprises him because he has expected more bitterness from himself.

 

So, Minhyun does not need a scarf for a Christmas present anymore – in fact, he does not need a Christmas present from Jihoon at all, now that Jihoon has seen what kind of relationship that the older boy has with Yoo Seonho. Yet, that night, on top of the chapter he has to read for his History homework, he finds himself fiddling with the order form from Twilfitt and Tatting's, anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

And the form is folded in his robes pocket the next day when he goes to the owlery before dinner, hauling the presents for his parents and his brother to be sent by the school owls. Jihoon has his own owl, a present from his aunty when he started Hogwarts, but Winky, being a miniature scop owl, is no bigger than his two fists combined, and he does not trust him for anything more than letters. He still calls him up after sending the school owls away with the parcels, though, and Winky hoots happily when he spots the treats that Jihoon has in his hand.

(“Like owner, like owl,” Woojin likes to say just to rile Jihoon up.)

“Hey.”

Jihoon knows it is Daniel before he turns around, because for some reason, he can recognize the deep voice anywhere now. He shifts slightly to the left when Daniel slips into the space next to him, but their shoulders still bump into each other as Daniel whistles to call a school owl.

“That’s your own?” he asks, sparing Winky a glance, while tying the parcel onto the owl’s leg.

“Yeah, his name is Winky.”

The school owl soars with the parcel into the dusky sky and Daniel turns sideways to face Jihoon and his tiny owl. “Winky? Why Winky?”

Jihoon chuckles and gestures at his pet. “Look carefully.”

Daniel watches the owl for a while without knowing what he should be paying attention at but after a while, he notices it – the right eye of the owl keeps twitching every few seconds, as if trying to wink. He coos at the animal, secretly thinking that it suits Jihoon very much though he is not telling Jihoon that anytime soon.

And there is something else that he should tell Jihoon, and he should do it soon; the time is running out.

“Jihoon.”

“Yes?” Jihoon hums in acknowledgment, still fussing over his owl.    

“Have you decided on who you are going to the ball with?”

“Nope. I think I will flip a coin the day before and decide whether to bring Guanlin or Jinyoung, though both of them are pestering me to choose as soon as possible because they want to find matching dress robes –”

“Then, would you like to go with me?”

 Jihoon’s hand stops on his owl’s head that he is petting, and he slowly turns his head towards Daniel, eyes widened and jaws slacked in surprise.

“What – wait, why, why are you asking _me_?” he asks using all the words he can come up at the moment, even though all he wants to do is to express the ridiculousness of the situation because Kang Daniel can go to the ball with practically _anyone_.

 Daniel has a kind, sincere look in his eyes, but there are no traces of his usual merry smile; he has not spent a lot of time with Daniel, but Jihoon feels like this is a new person altogether. Yet, like Daniel that he is familiar with, _this_ Daniel is still very comfortable to be around, and without any unpleasant churn in his gut, _this_ Daniel manages to make his heart races faster all the same, for a reason that he knows is there but cannot quite point out yet.

“There’s no one else I’ve considered to go with but you,” says Daniel with a composure that must have been granted by the heavens, just like his courage to talk to Jihoon after years of unspoken words, back at the cat café few weeks ago. “It seems like fun if we go together. Would you let me have a night with you?”

 

* * *

 

“I am going to the ball with Kang Daniel; don’t ask any question,” Jihoon raps the whole announcement out to his little entourage, who has gathered on a table at the library after dinner with their own homework. He purposely chooses to drop the bomb at the library instead of anywhere else, and knows he has made the right choice when Hyungseob, Guanlin and Jinyoung get dragged out by the librarian at once for the uproar that they made upon the announcement. Jihoon stays rooted on his seat, eyes glued to photos of Mandrake cross-sections on his textbook with more concentration than needed – while Woojin scrambles to carry all their friends’ belonging in a single Lifting Charm.

“You and I will talk later in the room, Park Jihoon,” he leans and whispers right into Jihoon’s ear before leaving the table.

Jihoon waits until his best friend disappears from vicinity before slamming his head on the table.

 

* * *

 

Daniel will be lying if he said he has never pictured the whole scene in his head; in fact, that was all he did for the whole week while waiting for sleep to claim him at nights and the first thing he did when he opened his eyes in the morning, relishing on some minutes before he needed to get up for the classes – as well as during his free hours when he was supposed to catch up with his N.E.W.T lessons.

Yet somehow, when he sees Jihoon making his way towards him amidst the crowd waiting for the Great Hall to be opened, it still feels like he is in one of those Muggle movies that he watches in his summer breaks back at his father’s place; like time actually moves slower around Jihoon while the rest of the people fade into nothingness, and he stands there, rooted and motionless, except his wildly beating heart, which is the only thing he can hear against the empty silence.

Jihoon is wearing white, and bless Merlin and all higher deities, magical or non, does he look good in white; Daniel almost never wants to see him in dull black Hogwarts robes again. His light gold hair complements his choice of colour perfectly, slicked back it framed his pretty face like a crown, and his white dress robe floats behind him like a coat of a royal cape. There is a ribbon tied around his collar, albeit it almost goes unnoticed against his pristine shirt.

“Hey,” Daniel hears Jihoon says, and he says it back, though he cannot quite hear his own voice.

“We didn’t get to coordinate colours, and Woojin said I’m not allowed to play around with colours if I don’t want to make a fool of myself, though I’m sure I’m not that bad – but I guess, white will suit anything you wear, so – ” Jihoon breaks into a ramble, words trailing away in the end as he falls into a bashful laugh. “You look good.”

Daniel lets go the breath that he does not remember holding, his lips raising into a relieved smile that then turns into a merry one and refused to fade at all.

“And you look amazing,” he says, trying to catch Jihoon’s eyes yet failing as the younger boy ducks in embarrassment again, pink blush spread brightly on his cheeks. It makes Daniel feels bold somehow, and he reaches out his arm without much thought, his fingers catching the ribbon on Jihoon’s collar. “Do you mind?”

Jihoon blinks at his partner curiously, not understanding the question, but he gets it seconds later when Daniel takes off his own sash, periwinkle blue that matches his dress robe and bottom and proceeds to loop it around Jihoon’s shirt collar, in place of the thin ribbon that now dangles around his fingers.

“Now we match somehow,” Daniel tells Jihoon while fixing Jihoon’s ribbon on himself. He is wearing a similarly white shirt beneath his dress robe, so the ribbon will still not stand out, but he figures out that he is already wearing enough colour anyway.

Jihoon simply nods, because for some reason he cannot come up with any words and the weight of the situation starts to make sense to him – if someone came up to him a month ago and told him he would be going to the ball with Kang Daniel from Gryffindor, he would have laughed out loud and make some semi-offensive jokes about getting a check-up at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for once.

And how glad he is when Daniel takes his hand when the doors to the Great Hall creak open slowly, because that means he does not have to make a move, even if now it pushes him into a newly founded anxiety about the degree of perspiration on his palm. He takes a deep breath as the crowd in front of him starts to move, telling himself to –

“Let’s just enjoy this,” Daniel voices it out next to him, his deep voice low in an excited whisper, though – Jihoon does not know how Daniel does this – it comes off as assuring as well, and with a squeeze on Daniel’s large hand, he mutters a determined “Yes, let’s.”

 

The dance is opened by the Head Boy and the Head Girl, and the four Quidditch Captains from each house alongside their partners – Jihoon finally takes a good look at Ong Sungwoo’s girlfriend, and acknowledges that they look like a match made in heaven indeed, though his attention quickly shifts to the Head Boy, Kim Jonghyun from Hufflepuff, who looks like he wants to go through the dance by touching his partner as less as possible. It is a well-known fact around the school that Kim Jonghyun, raised completely in Muggle environment for 11 years before he got his letter, has mastered all kind of magic after almost seven years in Hogwarts but one, and that is the trick of dealing with girls.

 

Once Professor Slughorn pulls Professor McGonagall to join the five couples on the dance floor, other students start filling up the space and as the live band – consists of wizards, witches and goblins – amps up the classic ballroom music, Jihoon feels a tug on his arm.

“Shall we?” Daniel asks, though he is already ushering Jihoon to the open space in the middle of the hall, and Jihoon lets him, the adrenaline from the surrounding starts rubbing off him, complemented perfectly by the good music and the lavish spectacles of decorations that have been put up around the hall, silvery drapes of veils all around with traces of the Houses colours, the enchanted ceiling pitch black with glitters (Jihoon wonders if it really is that starry outside) and snowy ornaments that look almost real but twinkles too much to be.

“Do you want to lead? I took the waltz lessons with Prof McGonagall but apparently I am not too good at it,” Jihoon hears Daniel say and all the time he had spent in his childhood in waltz dancing lessons with one of his strictest aunt holding a thin cane while watching he spun and swayed to the right note from the old record player flashes on his eyes.

“Sure,” he sighs, thinking that all those efforts have not gone to waste after all. His arm cannot possibly wrap around Daniel’s waist if he wants to maintain a respectable distance between them, so his hand settles on the small of Daniel’s lower back instead, and he takes a step back while beckoning Daniel to follow.

Daniel is not half bad a student, after a while he manages not to stomp on Jihoon’s foot and follows the pace that Jihoon has set between them – and now he can even hum to the music and look into Jihoon’s eyes without minding his feet anymore, though Jihoon personally prefers it when they were some giggling messes and haphazard steps because that has made him forgotten his nerves while this Daniel in front of him just makes his heart races faster, if anything.

“Don’t tell this to McGonagall but you are a much better teacher than her,” Daniel whispers, leaning a little bit closer than Jihoon is comfortable, but he notices the change of expression of his partner right away and maintain a decent gap again. “I think some talks are due between us.”

“What about?” Jihoon asks right away to spare his head from the trouble of assuming the worsts like it tends to do.

“First, thank you for going to this with me,” says Daniel, his eyes almost disappearing into crescents as his face breaks into the loveliest smile that Jihoon has ever seen on a person, the first that actually makes him feel a kind of warmth spreading in his chest, like a sip of Butterbeer on a cool evening, and steamed milk he uses to drink before bed back when he was a child.

“Thank you, too, for giving a way out and spare me from having to choose between two equally annoying brats,” he replies, chuckling at the thought of Jinyoung and Guanlin’s scowl if they ever hear that. He has learned earlier today that the two have refused all invitation from other hopefuls until the very end, and decided to stay with each other in the Ravenclaw tower instead. Knowing both of them, Jihoon is sure they are up to no good somehow, much more without Daehwi who usually acts as a voice of reason in their little group of friends.

“Secondly,” Daniel takes a pause. “I’d like to apologise again for the thing that happened two years ago. I was a stupid brat and act like what Muggles would call a _jock_. It wasn’t nice, I wasn’t supposed to treat you like that and I’m really, really sorry.”

Jihoon does not know what a jock is but he has a vague idea about it; because as young as he was back then, he knew Daniel was a decent boy who just had his head up in the air for a bit after getting into Gryffindor Quidditch team after their previous Keeper quitted, and the fact that he had quite a following did not help. Jihoon remembers thinking Daniel’s light pink hair was tacky and unnecessarily flashy but then again, Jihoon was a scrawny kid that grows his bangs long enough that they completely covered his eyebrows so differing opinions of what was cool and what was not inevitably differed between them.

Jihoon is not quite sure when did Daniel ditch his pink hair, because after that one fateful night at the hallway leading to Professor Slughorn’s office, he had tuned out everything about Kang Daniel and Ong Sungwoo, and that had somehow lasted until recently, the latest turn of event being him having this conversation with Daniel.

Woojin has always called Jihoon’s ability to almost completely shut his attention to certain people as amazing – the only thing he will sincerely praise Jihoon for – but he likes to exaggerate it as Jihoon being totally capable of handling his feelings at ease, which, Jihoon hates to admit, is quite far from the truth.     

Because if that is the case, he would have not taken out his wand and pointed it firmly at Kang Daniel and Ong Sungwoo, telling them to take their daring and chivalric asses elsewhere and mind their own business.

And he probably would have not seethe in fury so much when Daniel accused him of buttering up Professor Slughorn for favours, his mindlessly hurtful words followed by his signature, annoying giggles while Ong Sungwoo snorted next to him, claiming that he would never abuse his pure-blooded status to be in something as skewed as the Slug Club.

It was easier to ignore Ong Sungwoo, since their families never get along anyway despite similar blood statuses – or perhaps _due_ to their blood statuses and their Houses allegations; Sungwoo’s the upright Gryffindor while his the flawed Slytherin – but Kang Daniel, who served his weekly detention at the library, was nothing but familiar with the sight of Jihoon burying his head into Potion books, and had even talked to him about it, had no excuse of making that degrading assumption just because they saw him giving Slughorn a bottle of premium oak-matured mead as a Christmas present, which was merely a kind gesture from Jihoon to the teacher of his favourite subject.

It might have ended up with a duel fight because Sungwoo was halfway from drawing his own wand when Daniel stopped him, eyebrows furrowed together in distress at the situation that he had brought up as a price of a joke, which clearly did not come off as one to Jihoon.

“Yield your wand, Park Jihoon,” he had said in a strained voice. “This ain’t anything worth getting trouble for. We’re just kidding around; there’s no need to get your pants twisted.”

It took a while but Jihoon ended up lowering his wand, though his fingers were still gripping the hawthorn stick as tightly. He ran his fingers through his hair, brushing back the bangs that covered his forehead, and for a split moment before Jihoon turned around, Daniel saw into the prettiest eyes he had even seen, reminding him of his mother’s most prized Tahitian black pearls; precious and most exquisite.

He never gets to see them again; even now Jihoon darts away his gaze every few seconds, eye contact clearly not his strong forte. Glances of them are enough, he assures himself and this moment when his hand is resting on Jihoon’s shoulder and another holding his hand is more than anything he could have imagined in past two years when the guilt plagued him and even all the Gryffindor’s traits were not enough to make him walk up to Park Jihoon and properly apologise.

“Am I forgiven?” he asks for clarity, because Jihoon has not been saying anything since.

The boy tilts his head, plump, slightly chapped lips forming a coy grin. “I’m still here, ain’t I?”

Daniel turns them around at a crescendo of the music playing. “But am I forgiven?”

Jihoon wants to play around some more; this comes off amusing somehow because two years is a long time for him and he is not one to hold grudges at all, but the look Daniel is sporting on his face is one of a determined child and Jihoon has always been powerless against those.

“Yes, you are forgiven,” he says at last, releasing Daniel off his long-term weight on his back.

“I’ll have Sungwoo apologise to you, too,” Daniel tells him as if he has just remembered that he had not committed the wrong alone, to which Jihoon throws back his head and laughs.

“There’s no need; it’ll just make things awkward between Ong Sungwoo and I – plus I’ve put it behind me a long time ago.”   

The dance floor starts to empty out as the dining section is opened, though there are still a number of couples remain swaying their bodies along the now much slower dance.

“Thirdly,” Daniel starts again after quite a long pause following their previous topic, successfully startling Jihoon who is just about to space out. He looks up, and his gaze is met by Daniel’s own beady eyes, boring into his as if trying to capture all his thoughts and in his stupor, he does something that very much unlike himself – he holds on the interlock.

“Thirdly,” he hears Daniel repeats, and he waits some more for the boy to find his words, but none seem to come. He watches as Daniel’s eyes turn down slightly, disappointment brimming at the corner of the long lids.

“Dan –”

“Never mind,” Daniel cuts him off, a subtle sigh hanging at the end of his speech, but he passes it off with a smile. “Just... thanks a lot, for tonight.”

Jihoon shakes his head, almost helplessly, half resigned. At this point, he wonders if he wants to understand where Daniel is going on with this at all.

“Isn’t a _thank you_ too early at this point? The night has barely started.” 

 

* * *

 

The night is barely started indeed. When they reach the dinner buffet area, Jihoon’s jaw drops at the sight of the plethora of delicacies prepared and it is when his plate has different kind food piled so high it almost spills that he remembers that he is _not_ with his friends – who are all well aware how much a foodie he is – and with a consciousness of a teenage girl, he takes a glance at his partner. Daniel wears a fairly amused expression on his face, but his plate is also filled to the brim so Jihoon feels less guilty about his.

The dining area consists of round tables arranged closely with each other, and Jihoon scans them to find his friends to sit with. His eyes catch the sight of Woojin and Hyungseob, but they are sitting at a table full of other fourth year couples, so he lets Daniel lead him to a table with some vacant seats in the corner. They start stuffing their faces with food, exchanging only a few words in between because all the dancing has left them famished and the kitchen elves have outdone themselves again for the occasion.

Daniel finishes slightly before Jihoon, and the latter only realizes that when he looks up from his licked clean plate and notices that Daniel has been leaning on a hand propped on the table and watches him eat.

“What?” he asks in between conscious laughs.   

Daniel points at some areas on his white get-up, that is no longer as pristine, and before Jihoon can fully freak out about the stain, he waves his wand, muttering _Tergeo_ in a low voice and both of them watch as the wand siphons in the grease.

“You are pretty good at Charms,” Jihoon compliments him, admiring his clean again outfit.

Daniel giggles, looking very pleased with himself. “I’m not bad at it. I definitely won’t let you see me around a lit cauldron, though.”

“Hey,” someone pulls the chair next to Jihoon, and he sees Daniel’s expression changes slightly before he turns around.

“Hey, Minhyun,” greets Jihoon, his eyes immediately take in the appearance of the Gryffindor Seeker. Minhyun looks sleek in his simple, black overcoat, which matches with his raven hair, that is slightly ruffled, probably after the dancing.

On his left, Daniel mutters something about getting the desserts and is about to get up, but Jihoon _finally_ gets what is he doing and subtly pulls him down to sit again. His hand remains on Daniel’s wrist as he chats away with Minhyun about various aspects of the ball, like how the prefects have done a good job organizing the whole thing, and also the fact that Seonho is on his fifth trip to the buffet tables because he wants to sample the whole menu.

“You two look good together,” Minhyun says at one point, which successfully renders both of them into blushes when they realize Minhyun is focusing specifically on Jihoon’s hold on Daniel’s arm. “Enjoy the rest of the night – there will be a special guest performance after this. Now, please let me excuse myself while I make sure the child I am chaperoning is not eating himself sick.”

Once Minhyun disappears into the crowd, Jihoon whips his head towards Daniel. “I _remember_ now, Joo Haknyeon blabbed to you, that imbecile!”

Daniel grins ruefully, though it is not in any way his fault that Joo Haknyeon cannot keep a secret to save his life. “I thought you would like to talk to him alone. You two might not be going together, but you still can have a good time.”

“I _am_ having a good time,” Jihoon snaps, and warmth spread on his cheeks when he realizes his words. He quickly puts his napkin down and stands up. “I’m getting desserts!”

Daniel watches Jihoon’s retreating figure before sliding down his seat, burying his own flamed face in his palms. “You will be the death of me, Park Jihoon, really.”

 

The guest performance that Minhyun has mentioned about happens to be the rising star in the magical world music industry that have been stuck with Celestina Warbeck for the longest time, a boy band called The Curseproof Boys. Their appearance breaks a frenzy among their die-hard fans and when Daniel and Jihoon approach the mosh pit where the students have gathered, they meet Woojin on his own, looking exasperated more than dejected – Jihoon does not even need to ask, because Hyungseob stands out on his own among the girls on the front row, especially when there is a whole Kim Donghan next to him. Once the band starts playing, it is clear that those on the front are in entirely different world than the rest of them casual audience, and Woojin is glad that Hyungseob has the decency to let him not be the part of it.  

“Jihoon fancies them, too,” he tells Daniel over the screams of the fans. “He is too shy to go up front right now, but he got a collection of photo cards of the drummer back in the room.”

Jihoon jabs Woojin perfectly on the right crook of his ribs, while Daniel throws back his head, laughing. He pulls his partner closer when Jihoon has calmed down a bit, though he quite enjoys the sight of Jihoon getting riled up.

“I collect Quidditch players toy models too,” Daniel says, appeasing. “There isn’t much difference.”

“I have _one_ photo card, and that’s it,” Jihoon insists through gritted teeth. “And that’s only because his dumb boyfriend thought it’s funny to include that in my Christmas present last year.”

Woojin’s _dumb_ boyfriend, though, is smart enough to flit through the crowd and find him at the back of the pit when it is time for the countdown before clock strikes 12 o’clock and it will finally be Christmas. The band frontrunner makes a small talk with the fans before it is time, and then leads the count –

“ – 2, 1 – MERRY CHRISTMAS, HOGWARTS!”

Small explosions pop on top of their heads, filling the enchanted ceilings with puffs of colourful, bright smokes, of which, when dissipate, reveal floating, glittery illusions of mistletoes, hundreds of them, seemingly one for each couple in the hall. Jihoon awes at the brilliance of the event before comprehending what it _means_ and true enough, on his left, Hyungseob and Woojin has wrapped their limbs around each other as they engage in the longest kiss ever, in Jihoon’s point of view – because things cannot get more awkward than this as he does not know where to look; it’s either couples engaging in passionate lip locks or Daniel.

Daniel must be aware of their unconventional position, both literally and figuratively, and he shifts slightly on his spot, trying to look less like a sore thumb among the entangled bodies. As much as they try not to meet each other eyes, though, it cannot be helped that there is only that many sides to turn to, and they share a stiff giggle when they happen to turn to each other at the same time.

Jihoon’s heartbeat picks up when he feels Daniel taking his hand into a hold, a part of him thinking that perhaps Daniel wants to be the part of the event as well, after all. He does not know what expression is on his face, but Daniel chuckles at that and slightly shakes his head.

“Merry Christmas, Jihoon,” he hears Daniel say, and the hold on his hand tightens.           

“Merry Christmas, Daniel,” he hears himself say through the blood rushing in his ears as he wraps his fingers around the large hand.

 

 

Jihoon only realizes that they have not let go of each other’s hand when they make their way out of the hall after the band perform a few more songs to conclude the night and both of them decide not to stay for the encore. He is thoroughly worn-out, social interactions have always drained him and his stomach is full enough to make him feel sleepy, yet he has also drunk enough Butterbeer for the totalled sugar content to keep him awake all night.

“Should I walk you to the Slytherin lair?” Daniel asks jokingly, his coat is casually draped on his arm now, and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up. He has lost the ribbon that originally belongs to Jihoon, and insisted that Jihoon keeps his sash for compensation.

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “You probably watch too much Muggles films.”

Daniel laughs at that, because he has nothing on his defence regarding the matter. “So, we part ways here?”

“I guess, since my dungeon and your tower are on opposing sides...”

“I really enjoy tonight, Jihoon,” Daniel cuts him off, and Jihoon has a flash of déjà vu from their encounter in the Owlery earlier the week. “I hope you do, too.”

“I do,” assures Jihoon, swaying their interlocked hands slightly. “Thank you for asking me to go with you.”

Then, _that_ Daniel appears, the Daniel from the Owlery, that makes Jihoon feels like he belongs just by standing by his side, that makes Jihoon all warm inside just by smiling, that Daniel that Jihoon greatly wants to know more about now. 

“I told you, right – that there’s no one I’d rather to go with, except for you,” _that_ Daniel says, his eyes tender and honest. “There’s no one else I’d rather hold hands right now with. There’s no one else I would have asked to go Christmas shopping with. I – for a quite a while now – there’s no one else but you, Jihoon.”

“I know what you feel about Hwang Minhyun, but I want you to know what I feel about you, too,” he adds on, rather hastily. He gives Jihoon one last smile before entangling their hands. “Thank you for everything tonight, have a good sleep and see you around.”

Jihoon thinks he probably has managed to say a _good night_ in return, but he cannot be quite sure. There is a jumble of thoughts and questions running in his head as he walks back to the dungeon corridor where his house dorm is located – one of them that he can register that why does the Gryffindor dorms and the Slytherin dorms are so far apart, another is how do people deal with dating between houses anyway, just out of curiosity, because Jihoon is obviously not dating anyone and is _not_ thinking of doing so at all.

How dare Kang Daniel wishes him to have a good sleep, really.   

 

 

* * *

 

 

One of his roommates has returned and safely tucked himself on bed when Jihoon returns from washing up, but there is no sighting of Woojin. They usually joke around about Woojin spending the night with Hyungseob in the Hufflepuff basement, but it is also known by everyone that Hufflepuff is only one of the stricter houses about letting non-house member into their space so the two probably have somewhere else they can go to when both of them are not on their respective beds at night – and Woojin is a prefect so he will never get into trouble with that. Most of the times Jihoon does not care about Woojin’s whereabout but right now, he is in a dire need of advice and kind of wishes his best friend is around even if it is just for a curt response in his I-told-you-so manner.

Five minutes may have passed, or perhaps longer – he is not really counting – as Jihoon sits on his bed and stares into spaces, the familiar sound of swishing water from the window lulling him down yet the gears in his head are still busy turning around. After sometimes, he pulls out a woven basket under the empty gap of his bed and takes out of it a parcel.

He runs his fingers across the immaculate wrapping just for the sake of having something to do, before weighing the parcel with his hands. It is light on his hold, but the decision that he has to make regarding it weighs more than most of the things he has done so far. There is a convincing voice inside his head that tells him to just put the parcel away and go to sleep and never think about it again, yet there is a nagging feeling that gives him premonitions of imminent regrets if he does not do what he is supposed to right now. For someone who is always sure of what to do, this battle inside him is foreign to Jihoon and he hates it very much.

 

It is clear which part of him wins the battle when he finds himself walking up the staircase from the Dungeon Corridor and make his way towards the Gryffindor Tower on quite the opposite side of the castle. There are still students walking around, in groups or with partners, traces of the ball prominent and glaring against Jihoon’s own comfortable sweatpants and plain long-sleeved shirt. Some of them say hi to him, to which he responds with a tired smile and a nod of head, enough to send the message that he is done with socialising for the night.

No one has asked but Jihoon hides the parcel he is holding at his side anyway.

The portrait of Fat Lady stares at him when he arrives, like contemplating whether to let him in or not even without a password, because Jihoon is no stranger to the common room at all; he, Woojin and Hyungseob are always there to celebrate with Haknyeon for all Gryffindor wins in Quidditch as long as it is not against their houses.

“I’m not going to enter, I’m just waiting for someone to help me call a person inside,” he tells her.

As if summoned, Joo Haknyeon appears at one end of the corridor from the revolving staircase, his arm still around the waist of the pretty girl he has brought to the ball. His face lights up in surprise at the sight of Jihoon.  


“What brings you here?” he asks, after beckoning the girl to get into the room first (the password is _Cetus_ ).

Jihoon mentally questions himself if this is a right thing to do for a second before deciding to just go with it. “Haknyeon, can you call Daniel out for me?”

Haknyeon’s eyes widened upon hearing the request. “Kang Daniel?”

“Yes, Kang Daniel,” affirms Jihoon. “I’ll tell you what’s up later, Haknyeon, but can you just call him now because I’m really tired.”

Haknyeon is still looking at him incredulously but he fortunately relents quick enough. “Okay. This is so weird; what’s with you two asking for each other...”

 

* * *

 

Daniel climbs out from the hole behind the portrait after ten minutes, hair slightly tousled and eyes trying hard to properly open.

“I’m sorry, have you been sleeping?” Jihoon is hit by the guilt suddenly, he really should have thought this through more.

“Nah, I’ve just lied down after washing up,” says Daniel, assuring the younger boy as he takes a look at Jihoon’s attire. He has never had much chances to see Jihoon out of his school robes and his heart just giddies up at the sight of Jihoon in his sleepwear that he almost forgets to ask. “What’s up?”

Jihoon ignores that one single plea from the voice inside his head to not going through with what he is planning to do and hands the parcel to Daniel resolutely. “For you. It’s already Christmas, so this is your Christmas present, I guess.”

Daniel takes the parcel but not without peering at Jihoon like he has grown another head. The confusion that stretches on his face is almost comical if the situation is a just a tiny bit humorous to Jihoon but it is sadly not, so he waits and wills for Daniel to give him one of his smiles, no matter of what kind, just to assure himself that he is doing the right thing.

“This...” Daniel holds up the parcel with both hands. “Can I open it?”

Jihoon nods, and he instinctively chews down his lower lips as he watched Daniel unwrapping the present, soon revealing a bundle of cashmere wool and Daniel’s eyes open wider when he recognises the scarf that he has been eyeing for at Twilfitt and Tatting's the other day.

“You kept touching it,” Jihoon says as if it explains everything. “And I thought grey will look nice on you. You Gryffindors wear bright colours too much.”

Daniel smiles knowingly at _you Gryffindors_. “Does this mean I’ll have a couple scarf with Hwang Minhyun?”

The question does not register immediate in Jihoon’s brain, but when it finally does, it renders him flabbergasted.

“No,” he splutters, not knowing where he has to start his reasonings. “No, I, I only bought one of those, I didn’t – ”

He takes a deep breath and looks at Daniel in the eyes. “I decided not to give a present to Minhyun, after all.”

These are simple words, but the meaning rings loud and clear in between them.

“Yet I got one?” Daniel asks, his voice so low it almost a whisper.

Jihoon has this answer prepared from the start.  He puts on his most matter-of-factly voice. “Because you are my ball partner. So, your present for next Christmas is not yet guaranteed; please treat this as a one-off deal for now.”

There is three seconds pause, before both of them break into a shared laughter. Jihoon figures out that this is how he likes being with Daniel the most; laughing at the silly things that they come up with and feeling comfortable with just the presence of the each other – almost like friends, but a tad bit more.

“I didn’t get anything for you,” says Daniel regretfully, at which Jihoon waves him off.

“You don’t have to; I’m not giving you one just to get something in return,” he says coolly.

“But I _do_ have something I’ve wanted to give you, though,” Daniel cuts him off. “There’s something that reminds me of you at the little gift shop at the back of the High Street at Hogsmeade. Now that I finally have a reason to give it to you, would you like to go with me later?”

“Huh?”

Daniel sighs, though his lips are forming one of his most radiant smiles. “I’m saying – I’ve had a night with you – it’s the best night I’ve ever had – and so right now, on the next Hogsmeade weekend, would you let me have a day with you?”

Jihoon takes the words in slowly. “A day – as in a date?”

“Yes, Park Jihoon, a _date_.”

 

* * *

 

  

“Jihoon, I might be mistaken,” Jinyoung says carefully, his eyes fixated at the little thing hanging on Jihoon’s school bag. “Is that Felix Felicis inside your keychain?”

The question immediately brings Guanlin’s attention on the mentioned item. He holds it in between his thumb and his point finger – a miniature cauldron made from thick, transparent glass, with two strings tied around the handles at the side, which Jihoon uses to attach the item to the zipper of his bag. Inside the cauldron, as Guanlin peers into it, swirls some liquid in molten gold colour, that does not spill even when he turns the cauldron upside down.

“Yes, it’s Felix Felicis alright,” answers Jihoon without taking his eyes away from his homework. “It’s charmed in a way that it can never be taken out from the case, so it is solely for decoration and not for use.”

There is no reply for any of the Ravenclaw and that is when Jihoon finally turns around, only to sees both of their heads put together, appeared to be in a hushed discussion about something that is definitely about _his_ keychain.

Fumed, he reaches for a scroll and smack the two heads lightly enough that it will not cause any injury yet hard enough to teach them a lesson.

“If anything happens to this, I won’t let you two off, you hear me?” he warns sternly, ignoring the pouts and the puppy dog eyes that the younger boys are trying to use against him. “This is a present from someone special and he paid good Galleons for it so trust me when I say I won’t let you two off!”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are many loose ends and some of the scenes have repetitive executions and half of the story is unbeta-ed so I apologize for that but hope you like it anyway!! I mean, please like it hahaha (though finishing this is already a feat that I would like to congratulate you for /claps)
> 
> p.s. thank you for 10nim for doing the proofreading for most of the story; and if you like taekook, check out the story about The Curseproof Boys [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6203326) lol


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